


New in town.

by Whatupwippersnappers



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Abusive Ex, F/M, Jedi Jim "Chief" Hopper, Mention of Past Abuse, Mild Language, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-09-23 19:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20345371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whatupwippersnappers/pseuds/Whatupwippersnappers
Summary: After leaving your abusive ex in the night, you move to a tiny town in Indiana and sleep on the couch of your old babysitter, Flo. Settling into a small town is hard and being constantly on edge about your ex finding you doesn't help either, but after meeting the handsome police Chief Jim Hopper, your beginning to think it might not be so bad.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this took me longer than expected I’ll admit, but I’m kinda proud of it? I tried a different writing style for this one so let me know if you like it or not. Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated. The idea for this fic came to me in a dream which is pretty cool. This is the longest part one fic I’ve ever written.

“Joyce, all I’m asking is for you to introduce me next time she comes into the store” Hopper leans on the shelf next to Joyce, arms crossed, it feels like he’s 16 again asking his friend to talk to the girl he likes for him.

“Why can’t you just talk to her? You’re the Chief after all and she just moved here, you’ll have to speak to her eventually” 

“But, it’s not that easy, I’ve seen her around town for months and yet I haven’t figured out how to just talk to her. I-I don’t know Joyce, next time she comes in just bring up my name or something-” 

“Okay, okay, just leave it to me, Hop” The bell rings in the front of the store, signally a new customer is here “I’ll be right there!” Patting Hopper on the shoulder assuring the flustered man that she’ll take care of it.

“Oh, Y/N! I didn’t think I’d see you here today, I guess you’re taking a break from house hunting?” Joyce smiles at your sleep-deprived form.

“Yeah, moving really took it out of me, so I thought I’d spend the day doing some much-needed shopping” Knowing all too well if you had to spend another night on Flo’s cramped ancient couch, you’d at least have to get a better pillow.

Flo used to babysit you when your parents lived near Hawkins and when you moved here a few months ago, she welcomed you again with open arms until you found a place to live, but seriously that couch is going to be the death of you.

Hopper stood awkwardly by the checkout line Joyce was tending, his presence reminding Joyce what she agreed to do “Oh, I don’t think you two have met, Y/N, this is Chief Hopper” Joyce points you towards the handsome man leaning on the shelves in front of you, he gives you a kind smile.

“No, I haven’t had the chance to introduce myself, I’m Y/N, I’m kinda new in town” Smiling up at the man who in height makes you feel very small, you reach out to shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Chief”

Hopper takes your offered hand in his large one shaking your hand gently “It’s nice to meet you too, Y/N, Flo mentions you a lot” Joyce smiles while watching you bring out a new, bashful side of the Chief.

You chatted with Joyce for a bit, then said a quick goodbye to them both, not wanting to hold them up form their jobs any longer.

You couldn’t quite get Hopper off your mind after you met him, skimming over the candle section, a place you always wound up even though you had no need for another scented candle, your thoughts were elsewhere, Chief Hopper was a much-needed distraction from worrying about your ex, and a very handsome one at that.

Flo hadn’t questioned much when you moved to Hawkins, she never brought up your ex and she never asked about the bruises on your arms or your lack of belongings.

Leaving in the night was your best way to get away from Adam, you had been planning to leave for a while, but the night before you left he had gotten a little too rough with you, going to the police should have been the first thought on your mind but your past experience with the police didn’t go so well, and they ended up dismissing your case for lack of evidence against him. 

The day you left he had come home from another night out with his friends and passed out on the couch, taking this as the opportunity you needed, you gathered what you could and shoved it into a small suitcase and backpack then left without even leaving a note.

You decided on Hawkins because you had grown up not far from there, you had known Flo from a very young age, it seemed like the safest place for you.

Until Adam had shown up this morning.

.

It had been a slow week at the office for the Chief, one he really needed, he didn’t mind his job but the continuous calls about crazy dogs and cats going missing filling of his days were enough to drive anyone insane, a moment of peace and quiet was much needed.

Coming in from his forth smoke break of the day, he overheard Flo talking to someone on the phone, “He came by earlier this week, I just wish she would talk to me about it, you know?”

In the quiet office, Hopper could hear her talking while he refilled his coffee, stopping when he heard your name being brought up. “She told him he shouldn’t come by and that she didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. Now, I don’t like prying into her business, I just want Y/N to be safe”

Hopper was so into the conversation about you he didn’t notice the coffee spilling from his overfilled cup until it was burning his hand and spilling down the counter “Shit!”

Flo’s conversation had plagued Hopper’s mind for the rest of the day, who’s this guy that showed up? An ex? Was Y/N in danger? Flo didn’t sound too happy about the whole situation but she didn’t allude to much either. He considered asking Flo about it but decided he didn’t want to pry.

At home, Hopper’s mind was still on you and what he overheard today, the late-night television show was long forgotten as his thoughts raced. Downing the last of his bottle, he got up to get another one, opening the nearly bare fridge proved only one thing “Damn, I’m out of beer” deciding he’d probably forget to go to the store tomorrow and end up coming home with nothing in the house, going now probably was for the best.

.

Flo wanted to run to the store remembering she needed a few items, you told her you’d go instead, insisting you needed some things yourself, but you honestly just wanted to get out of the house, the thought of Adam being in town had you holed up in her house most of the week, you couldn’t live in fear of him forever, now could you? Besides you needed beer anyway.

Deciding sweatpants and an oversized top would do, I mean it’s late in a small town, chances are you’ll only get weird stares from the teen at the counter.

Walking into the supermarket, the smell of floor cleaner and fluorescent lights hitting you at once making you rub your tired eyes. Pulling out the list Flo had kindly given you, you grabbed a shopping cart and decided the eggs and milk would be your first stop.

Grabbing everything on Flo’s list along with some of your own items, you remember the reason you talked yourself into this late shopping trip, beer.

Softly humming to the David Bowie track that echos throughout the nearly empty store, you turn down the alcohol aisle smiling when you spot a familiar face, “Chief Hopper, I didn’t expect to see you here this late”

Hopper turns towards you, holding the same brand of beer you always buy, he looks tired and he’s wearing a white shirt that clings to him a little too well and his work pants. Tired and disheveled he still looked really handsome. You caught yourself staring a little too long. “Grabbing beer and dinner, what’re you doing here?”

“Flo needed some stuff so I volunteered, can you pass me one of those?” Pointing at the beer he was holding.

“Oh, yeah” He grabbed a pack and placed it in your cart “You drink this shit too?” Hopper laughed making his tired demeanor lighten a bit.

“Yep, it’s cheap and does the job” You smiled at him noticing his ‘Dinner’ was most likely the bag of chips he was holding. “Is that all your going to eat?”

“I can’t cook and I’m always too tired anyway, so yeah it is usually tortilla chips and salsa” You nodded, an idea coming to you.

“You should really come by for dinner sometime, I can’t say I’m the best chef, but I do pretty well” Was this considered flirting? Would he assume you were flirting with him? You sure hope he did.

“Oh yeah? I might just take you up on that one of these days” Hopper’s smile changed a bit, expressing that you were both testing the waters on flirting.

“How about Thursday?” 

“What?” He questioned, catching him off guard, clearly not ready for how straight forward you were being.

“Dinner, Thursday night? Around 7, I’ll cook spaghetti or something” Your confidence wavering as you remember your asking out the Chief of police of this town, a man who had a lot more life experience than you and might not even be that into you.

“Right, that sounds great. I’ll be there” Hoppers smile returns before he says a quick goodnight to you and heads to check out. Guess you’re going to have to pick up some more ingredients.

.

Thursday comes quickly and Hopper is already on edge and it’s only 2 in the afternoon.

Puffing away on yet another cigarette to calm his nerves, he wasn’t used to being this nervous around women, but you’re younger than him and even though he’s definitely into you, he has no idea why you’d consider him. It’s making his nerves worse just thinking about it.

His day had been kept quite busy as he didn’t want to risk working overtime and canceling your dinner, he contemplated if he should change before tonight, but he didn’t really have anything better to wear at home, unless he wanted to wear jeans and a t-shirt, he didn’t think that would impress you very much. 

It took everything in Hopper not to call you again and ask if tonight was still on, you had gotten his number from Flo and called to let him know that she would be out with a friend for dinner that night, so it would just be the two of you, and he had restrained himself from asking then if this really was a date or not.

Watching the clock every hour felt like it took twice as long for it to go by, he rubbed his eyes and downed the last of his coffee.

.

You were busy getting the ingredients together before Hopper came over tonight, Flo was happy to hear you invited over the Chief for a dinner date, not seeming to mind the age gap of you two. She informed you that she couldn’t remember the last time she’s seen Hopper this happy, the whole week she had told you was a nice change from his usual demeanor, he seemed to have a passion to actually come to work again.

Flo had told you a few days ago she would be out having dinner with a friend on Thursday, solving the problem for you on how you were supposed to have a dinner date with Chief Hopper if Flo was going to be there, not that you minded at all, it just made you even more excited for tonight.

Deciding that the pasta could wait until it was closer to 7, as it was only a quarter till 4 and you were already watching the clock, your makeup and hair are done, you even bought a new dress for tonight, as this was the most alive you’ve felt in quite a while.

The doorbell rang throughout the house, you weren’t expecting Hopper for a few more hours and Flo wouldn’t ring the doorbell, who would be at the door? An all too familiar chill ran down your spine.

Holding onto the doorknob and taking a deep breath before the knocking started again and startled you, hoping for anyone but the one person you knew deep down it was.

You pulled the door open “Hello, sweetheart, took you long enough” 

“Adam, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, do I have to have a reason to visit my girlfriend?” Adam leans against the doorframe with an overpowering smell of alcohol coming off him you’re surprised he even made it here in one piece.

“I’m not your girlfriend anymore Adam, we’ve talked about this” He brushed past you and went to sit on the couch propping his feet up on Flo’s antique coffee table, which upset you, Flo didn’t even have a water ring on that, you wouldn’t be able to stand it if he left a scratch on it.

“Actually, no we haven’t talked about this, remember you skipped town on me” Sighing, you really didn’t need this tonight, this was going to be the one night you actually enjoyed yourself and he had to come and ruin it. “Listen, I’m busy tonight Adam unless you have something you needed, you should really be going”

“You have plans, huh? Like a date?” leaning against the open front door, you cross your arms and glare at him. You two are not dating anymore, why do you have to explain yourself to him? 

“Yes, Adam I do have a date tonight and I really do need you to leave!” You gesture towards the open door next to you. Holding your ground, but knowing all too well how upset he was getting.

“Who is he?” Standing from the couch his towering frame moving closer to you, hand reaching around you to slam the front door “Dammit, Y/N who is he?!”

You didn’t want any harm to come to Hopper because of you, so you kept your mouth shut, making Adam even angrier. You try and duck under his arm but he pins you against the wall “S-stop it, Adam, let me go!” reaching up you drag your nails across his face, leaving bright red scratches and drawing blood.

“You, little bitch!” Adam had finally lost it, you knew it would happen one day I mean that’s why you moved in the first place but as he raises his hand to you, your body still freezes in shock, as a sharp pain in your left cheek makes tears spill down your face.

Having no one else to turn to that knew about your abusive ex, you called Flo to tell her everything and apologize for the vase Adam had broken in his anger before he left, she was as always, incredibly understanding but Flo begged you to come into the station and file a restraining order.

As you looked at your swollen face in the mirror, the bruise was deep purple now on your upper cheek, making your eye swell a bit, the pain was bearable now, only leaving you with a throbbing headache.

You sighed and dropped towards the sink, you were frustrated and tired but one thing you were for sure of as you pulled your head back up to look at your bruised face, you definitely had enough evidence now and you knew exactly where to go.

.

Hopper had just finished his last papers for the day, he was leaning back in his chair after lighting a fresh cigarette when Flo barged into his office “Thanks for knocking, Flo” he sighed and sat back up in his chair.

“One more case for the day Chief” Flo threw down the papers to file a restraining order as she looked up at the clock “She’ll be here in about 15 minutes, I assume”

“Wait, Flo, I’m done for the day, are you sure this can’t wait until tomorrow?” Flo didn’t want to give any more details then she had too, you were more than able to explain yourself.

“Oh, I’m sure, I’ll let her in when she gets here” Flo left without saying another word, leaving Hopper to his cigarette she was pretty sure he was going to need.

.

You threw on whatever you could find, sad to see that the pretty dress you bought will go unworn in the shopping bag you left it in, it will have to wait for another time, your date night was ruined and you really didn’t want Hopper to see you like this, not after the night you had planned, but it can’t be helped, Flo wasn’t going to take no for an answer and you knew you couldn’t either.

In the car you found a pair of old sunglasses you tossed into the glove box years ago, they were too big for your style but it hid your face enough to feel like people wouldn’t stare as much.

When you got to the Police station, you were immediately greeted by Flo “Oh, sweetie come here” giving you a much needed hug that you wished you could have made last longer but you knew too much comfort was going to make you break down again and not you or your swollen eye needed that right now.

“I’m okay, just ready to get this over with, I don’t ever want to see Adam again” Flo nodded and escorted you straight to Chief Hopper’s office as the little sign read on his door. Flo pushed it open and led you inside, sighing you hoped you didn’t look that bad. “She’s here Chief”

.

Hopper wasn’t expecting you to walk in with Flo, “Y/N?”

“Yeah, this wasn’t how I wanted tonight to go Hop” you took a seat across from him as Flo quietly shut the door, leaving you both alone.

“Why are you filing a restraining order? What happened?” Hop could tell you looked tired and the sunglasses worried him.

“My ex got angry and one thing led to another” Standing up and making his way over to you, Hopper leaned down to look at you, reaching up and hesitating for moment in case you wanted to stop before he gently pulled your glasses off, Hopper’s eyebrows furrowed together, anger coursing through him at the bruise that grazed your lovely cheek.

“I’m tired of this Hopper, I never want this to happen again, I don’t want to be scared anymore” Tears flowed freely from your eyes again, as Hopper pulled you into his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was expecting this to just be a 2 part series, but then I ended up liking this being a set up into the next part so, sorry for this being kinda short but I hope you guys like it anyway! Thank you so much for all the lovely feedback on the first part.

“I’m tired of this Hopper, I never want this to happen again, I don’t want to be scared anymore” Tears flowed freely from your eyes again, as Hopper pulled you into his arms.

.

Feeling you tremble in his arms Hopper let your emotions flow freely as he held you, your tears staining his uniform.

Keeping his anger at bay for your sake, though he could feel a deep hatred for the man who did this you, a feeling he wasn’t used to was forming as well, only making his anger harder to control.

You pulled away from him wiping the tears from your eyes, wincing when you hit a tender spot, Hopper pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket “Here, let me”

Tenderly dabbing away the tears from your eyes and stopping news ones from falling, his touch was so gentle you barely felt it on your skin, a smile forming on his face as he looked you over.

“There you go, no more tears over this bastard alright?” Letting his anger slip a bit, unable to catch it while he looked you over for any more tears.

Your smile calmed his anger as you looked up at him “You’re right, he doesn’t deserve them anyway”

“That’s right” After checking one more time that you’re alright, Hopper stands up and moves back around his desk to the papers Flo dropped off “Are you ready to answer a few questions?” 

.

“Yes, I’m ready” Sitting up a bit further in your chair, straightening your hair and clothes as best you can, Hopper has seen you in a very bad way and yet he still looks at you like you’re the most important thing in this room.

Hopper’s questions were easy, how long were you together? has the abuse gone on the whole time? do you consider yourself in danger because of your ex?

The questions were easy enough, Hopper told you the only thing that really matters to the Court is proof of abuse, you both knew that wouldn’t be a problem now.

He gave you a paper to write down your information and your previous address, and every known location for Adam, his work, his best friends address, you even wrote down his parents’ address.

“That should be everything we need Y/N” The sheer weight being lifted off your shoulders as you watched Hopper sign the papers was enough to make a few more tears slip down your cheeks, quickly wiping them with the handkerchief Hopper had given you, now wasn’t the time to cry.

“I’ll have Flo fax them over and it’ll be up to the Court then, but I assure you they’re not going to turn down your case, there’s too much evidence against Adam now” Hop gave you a bright reassuring smile, which tugged at your heart a bit.

“Hopper, I-I’m so sorry about our dinner tonight, I know this wasn’t at all what you were expecting-” Hop reached across his desk to gently grab your hand in his large warm one, shaking his head lightly at your flustered and tired form.

“Don’t worry about that, there’s plenty of time for that once I know your safe”

Flo came in at that moment, “Just checking to make sure everything’s going okay in here” Hopper nodded at her and you pulled your hand away from his so he could hand her the papers, Flo took them from Hopper and turned her attention towards you “You okay, sweetie?”

“Yes, I’m a lot better now, but I think I need some coffee” You gave Flo a reassuring smile just so she doesn’t worry about you any more than she already does, ever since you got to Hawkins, she’s worried about you.

“That sounds like a good idea, I could use some myself” Hopper stood from his desk as you both followed Flo out of his office towards the much-needed caffeine calling your name.

.

Hopper poured you a cup of steaming coffee, you gladly accepted it and let the steam wash over your face, you were exhausted and you still winced in pain every time Hopper made you smile or laugh, making him feel bad, but you assured him it was okay.

Flo ushered Hopper outside when he tried to light a cigarette in the office, you followed him out, you needed some fresh air anyway.

The events of the day finally catching up to you outside, while Hopper puffed away on his cigarette beside you, your demeanor must have told all because Hop moved closer to you, bumping you in the shoulder playfully “What’s on your mind?”

Breaking out of your thoughts you smile up at him “I don’t think I can go back to Flo’s home now” Adam knows where to find you now, with that he took the safety from you and the uncomfortable couch you had grown used to over these past few months, you also could never forgive yourself if you put Flo in danger of having to face a drunken Adam. “I’m not for sure where to go until the restraining order goes through”

Hopper scratched at his beard as he contemplated your words, you really shouldn’t bother him with anymore of your problems, he’s already helping you enough, but you didn’t have anyone else to go too and Flo would just have you stay at her place, risking her own safety just so you didn’t have to worry about her.

.

“This might be really unprofessional of me,” Hopper stated, tossing his cigarette butt on the ground and turned towards you “But, why don’t you stay at my place? I mean, it’s a tiny cabin in the woods, you might hate it but it’s safe and Adam will never find you out there, I’ll make sure of it”

He was expecting an answer from you but all you could do was stare at him, he barely knew anything about you apart from the fact you had asked him on a dinner date that was screwed over by your drunken ex and yet he’s letting you stay at his home? There isn’t any pity in his eyes as he waits for you to say something, he genuinely wants you to be safe.

.

Hopper hopes he didn’t overstep his bounds with you and wonders as he looks at your stunned expression, he hoped you knew that this wasn’t the police chief speaking, this was a man wanting to protect a woman he had feelings for, this was coming from a man who wished he could crush anyone and anything that laid a harmful finger on her. Hop hoped to all hell that he portrayed this to her in his gaze and in the sincerity of his words.

He was brought out of his rushing thoughts as a pair of small arms wrapped around him “I’d like that Hopper, I’d like that very much” he pulled you closer to him as you relaxed in his arms, he could just barely hear you mumble against him a soft and relieved “Thank you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 will be up in the next week or so, I’m binge-watching Stranger Things for more motivation for writing before I start College in September, but I promise even with College I’ll still updating! Thank you for all your feedback, It’s always appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long-time no Hopper, I know! College started and my brain and hands have been mostly on coding, but I cannot neglect the man who has kept me going and writing this has been a really nice mental break! I appreciate all the feedback I’ve gotten on this fic, It continues to shock me on all the love from you guys, so thank you so much.

Dropping your heavy backpack down by the door when you walk in, you huff out a sign and stretch your tired back. Hoppers cabin was a lot deeper into the woods then you initially thought and you spent a good amount of time tripping over the uneven forest path to get to the porch, You thought it was perfect, though a little dirty and dusty, potato chip bags and beer cans everywhere, it had a charm to it you couldn’t quite place exactly.

Hopper dropped the rest of your luggage on the floor next to your backpack, Flo had helped you pack and insisted on giving you sheets, pillows, and she even bought you enough toiletries to probably last you for the rest of your life, so the small number of things you brought from Adams had now tripled by everything Flo thought you might need and you couldn’t help but be warmed to the core by her kindness.

“Alright, I think that’s all of it” Hop stretches out his back after bringing in everything Flo bought you, “I know it’s not much and I’m sorry I didn’t have time to clean up a bit” He goes to pick up the leftovers on the coffee table and tries to casually shove some dirty magazines under the couch, probably hoping you didn’t see him do that, although you can’t help but smile at the large man clumsily cleaning his cabin for you.

“Your rooms right there, you can go unpack if you want” Hopper pointed you towards the small room next to you with a badly painted green door.

“Thank you” You leave the Chief to his cleaning, not wanting to impose on anything else he might want to shove under the couch, smiling to yourself you pick up a couple of bags and push open the old green door that leads to your new room.

.

“Lysol? Dish soap? Hell, I’ll even take oven cleaner at this point” Hopper huffed under his breath as he threw open cabinet after cabinet trying to find any cleaning supplies, he had. A beautiful woman is staying in his home and he wanted to make everything as comfortable as possible for her and yet he couldn’t even find a standard household cleaner.

He decided to clean any dust off with a wet kitchen towel and made a mental note to pick up cleaning supplies on his drive home tomorrow.

Hearing you softly hum ‘Takin’ care of business’ that had played on the radio, when you were driving to his cabin; smiling to himself as he finished cleaning the kitchen, he could hear you opening and closing the drawers of the dresser while you unpacked and could only imagine you swaying to the tune in your head.

Having you live with him was definitely going to be a new experience, he hadn’t had a woman live with him in years, most women he was around didn’t even stay the night. A warm feeling was brewing in his chest just thinking about his little cabin actually having life in it for the first time in probably decades.

Pushing thoughts back down that Hopper didn’t want to think too hard about, you needed a place to stay and he wasn’t about to ruin whatever relationship you both had with bringing too many emotions into it. 

Tieing the last trash bag and tossing it outside with the others for the time being, Hopper sighed while he looked around his small cabin, it was far from being spotless but it would have to do, for now, hearing you starting to go quiet in your room, presuming you’re close to being done unpacking Hopper decides it’s time to bite the bullet and make something for dinner, he knew you probably would want more than just chips and salsa.

“Shit..” All he had in his fridge was beer and leftovers from a party that Flo held at the office, he doesn’t even remember when that party was or what holiday it was for, probably need to throw that out as well, he thought.

Pulling back from the fridge to look over at you, watching you take in the place you’d be staying in, he hoped he cleaned it enough for to make it at least feel comfortable “You cleaned up, it looks nice Hop”

“Thanks. Uh I didn’t have any time to pick groceries up before we got back” Hopper scratches the back of his neck and looks at you sheepishly “So, I don’t know what to make you for dinner”

“That’s okay, let’s see what we have here” Hop watches you move around the kitchen, brows furrowed in concentration, he knows you’re probably wondering just what to make with the little supplies you had, he considers just ordering pizza and hoping it won’t take the delivery guy hours to find his cabin, when you speak up.

“How about spaghetti?” He watches you pull out pasta and a can of tomato sauce, things that Flo probably bought him on one of her health kicks, trying to get him to at least cook himself a meal every once in a while, of course, that never worked but he appreciated Flo’s efforts. “I make really good spaghetti, trust me” 

Hopper couldn’t help but smile as you bounced around his makeshift kitchen, boiling water, setting timers, and measuring pasta. You looked actually at peace, “That sounds great” This wasn’t exactly what he had planned for your dinner date to be when you originally offered to make him pasta, but he damn well wouldn’t trade seeing you happily make dinner in his kitchen while you both talked and drank beers together, laughing at some stupid joke he had said.

.

“Hopper, I’m back!” You shook off the heavy coat that adorned your shoulders and hung it up on the rack next to Hop’s huge blue one. 

“Hey, how was your day?” You heard him call from the kitchen, walking in there to greet him and noticing he was actually attempting a new recipe for tonight’s dinner. You finally got him started on cooking and since then you have both learned he could make a mean meatloaf and now you never ate much else, he found it simple enough and it made leftovers for you both so it was your normal supper, but tonight he was clearly trying to make lasagna, emphasis on the ‘trying’ part.

“It was good, slow for most of it, but me and Joyce had fun” When Joyce found out you were staying with Hopper, she insisted on helping you find work, Melvalds wasn’t hiring at the time but Joyce pulled some strings and got you on part-time at the Kodak booth, which put right in front of where she typically worked. Luckily your hours always coincided so she picked you up in the morning and dropped you off at night.

“Did you stop any bad guys today?” You tried not to ask what the burnt smell was, assuming this was his second attempt at making dinner.

Hopper looked up and smiled at you before returning to his work on the counter “Oh yeah, Mrs. Mayfield’s pomeranian is quite a tough case” His voice got deeper, making you laugh at his faux seriousness “But, I took care of it”

Still smiling at Hoppers silly comment you took to setting the table, although it had only been a little over a month of staying with Hop, you both fell into it like it was normal, he cooked, you washed the dishes, he took out the trash, you cleaned up after meals; it felt really domestic, even though you and Hop were no more than good friends. 

Hopper came in and set the pretty lasagna down on the table, “Well, I’m impressed, it looks edible!” You joked while he cut sizable slices for you both.

“What? You doubted my amazing chef skills?” He faked being offended at your words.

“No, not at all Hop” You both laughed while he cracked open beers for you both.

You didn’t want to ask, but it came up every night, Hopper knew that, so while you picked at the other half of your lasagna and Hop went for seconds, you spoke up “Did anything come in the mail today?” Your voice always sounded like an ashamed kid asking for another cookie and you hated it.

“No, nothing today, I told you it might take a while, especially if they have to track Adam down” Hop always tried to let you down nicely, never wanted to hinder the mood but knowing just how important this was for you.

You nodded at that and started on the rest of your remaining lasagna, it was actually really good and Hop had done a great job on it. “Hey” You looked up at him, he could always tell something was wrong, guess that was what made him such a great police chief.

“You’re safe here, even though you work in town I’m always right down the road, I will never let anything happen to you, okay?” 

“I know that Hop, thank you” You reach out and take his large hand in yours, hoping it conveyed how grateful you were for being here with him even just a little bit.

After dinner, you went to go wash up from the day, while Hop picked out a movie. 

Now you can actually wash your face without wincing from your swollen eye, your face went from a deep purple bruise that faded into yellow that seemed to never go away, but now as you looked at yourself wiping off the remaining water and makeup, you can’t even tell that you looked like a wreck just weeks ago, well over a month ago really.

Hopper reassured you every step of the way that your bruises didn’t look “that bad” which you were grateful for, but you knew it looked rough enough for old lady’s to glare at you while you picked up dinner at the grocery store, sometimes you’d forget why they were staring and stare back at them causing an awkward impromptu conversation from the stranger that usually resulted in you mumbling “You should have seen the other guy” under your breath and walking away.

Sighing as you felt the hot water hit you from the shower, you stepped in, remembering that it wouldn’t take long for Hop to find a good movie for you both.

You quickly washed up as you could smell popcorn being made, you laughed at just how well he knew you, how you needed the popcorn to watch a movie even after finishing a large slice of lasagna.

.

Hop hummed an old favorite as he melted some butter for the popcorn, hearing the shower shut off he quickly turned the stove off and went to put the VHS in, he knew you were getting sick of his Clint Eastwood movies so he asked the teen at the Family Video store to recommend something so Hop ended up walking out of there with ‘Night of the comet’ It wasn’t something he’d ever watch normally but he knew you’d enjoy it.

Setting the popcorn down on the table with freshly poured butter and salt, he fluffed the pillows on his couch a bit and sat down to wait on you. Everything he did for you made him feel like a teenager again, he always got butterflies in his stomach just thinking about you being happy because of him, although he pushed those feelings down at every turn.

The smell of your favorite shampoo and sleepers shuffling across the old wood floor alerted Hopper to your presence, “What’re we watching tonight?” You jumped onto the cushion next to him.

“Night of the comet, it’s newly out I think you might like it” On the small couch with Hop’s arm being lazily thrown around the back of the cushions, the soft hum of the VHS beginning to play the tape, and a hot bowl of popcorn on your lap; you could forget all about Adam, the pending restraining order and your slightly uncertain future in Hawkins, at least for the next hour and thirty-five minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t promise when the next part will be out, but since I’m finally starting to settle into College, it probably won’t take as long as this one. Feedback is always appreciated, thank you, everyone.
> 
> If you're interested you can find a link to the movie I talked about on my Tumblr the-obsession-ship.tumblr.com, I can't link anything on here so you'll find the link to it at the bottom of this fic I posted on there titled New in town -part3-

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't posted on here in ages lol and I know I probably won't be finishing the rest of my fics on here so sorry about that, I just don't have the motivation from Star Wars like I used too, but Stranger Things is my new obsession and I know that my writing has gotten a lot better, so, please if you enjoyed this feel free to leave me a comment and Kudos!


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